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I'm okay with it being a bit consuming. Firearms, self-defense, competition...it's already pretty consuming. I figure my personality is a perfect fit for reloading.
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Tumbling my first load of brass...ever!
- Thread Starter CHLChris
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+1 stainless and a rock tumbler.
FWIW, I don't tumble that often. Usually at the end of the season.
I serialize all my brass with lot and case numbers and then sort them into groups of 22 all of the same weight and all with sharpie so I don't want to lose that information.
FWIW, I don't tumble that often. Usually at the end of the season.
I serialize all my brass with lot and case numbers and then sort them into groups of 22 all of the same weight and all with sharpie so I don't want to lose that information.
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Well you've already told your wife it will save money...as a practicing addict I can say you've made an excellent start. I hope you manage the finances it's easier that way
.It's a great hobby though. Stretches your brain as well as your wallet. God knows my brain could use some stretchin'.
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I just put my third load into the tumbler. I'm going to go 2 hours this time and see if it makes a difference over one hour. I have been cutting up a dryer sheet for each load and I am amazed at how black those end up!
I have so much brass that I can see me only doing this tumbling thing over a few days once or twice a year. Maybe during each snow storm like this. I'm really feeling cooped up and sorting brass has been an okay use of time.
I have so much brass that I can see me only doing this tumbling thing over a few days once or twice a year. Maybe during each snow storm like this. I'm really feeling cooped up and sorting brass has been an okay use of time.
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If you are anal or have OCD (heaven forbid), you'll use that tumbler more than you think.
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I'm definitely anal and have a little OCD, but I also like to have a purpose for the compulsive things that I do, n reason to have a product that is to a level of perfection that is beneficial. For example, I'm perfectly okay with brass that is clean enough to load and safely fire that isn't bright as the morning sun. Now, I've never loaded a round in my life. It could be that I learn, through experience, that a bright, shiny piece of brass is better for my purposes. But until experience shows me that, I'm okay with "clean enough."
Something Iv'e noticed is the more brass in the tub the better. Seems like the brass in there rubbing on the other brass gets it shinier/cleaned. I run it with the lid off and add brass until the circulation slow down quite a bit. I generally run it for at least three hour too.
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IF you like accuracy, you'll like to keep your brass clean. Remember when reloading accurate ammo, consistency is the key.
1. Clean brass
2. All trimmed to the same length
3. Same powder charge
4. Concentricity (very low TIR)
5. Clean primer pockets and uniform flash holes..
This is only just to name a few things... I'm not even getting into weighing each piece of brass or checking volume and sorting. Now there are guys out there that really get anal about things, thankfully I'm not one of them...
It's just prettier!
And it's amazing of what I've learned/realized, what I like/don't like, since I started loading for myself. It's something you make ALL YOURS! Yet it's the same thing that many of us do! then you get to talking with other loaders, and.........
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My purpose for this brass is USPSA competition. Accuracy is important, but cleaner brass won't make a difference for my purposes. I'm thinking it might just make a difference for me around the difficulty of pulling that handle.
When I get to reloading that pile of 223 brass I've been saving, I think I will be spending a lot more effort on case prep., but until then, straight-walled 40 brass doesn't require much perfection.
When I get to reloading that pile of 223 brass I've been saving, I think I will be spending a lot more effort on case prep., but until then, straight-walled 40 brass doesn't require much perfection.
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I'm with you on this. I usually run mine for about 4 hours. Using a 50/50 mix of lyman red rouge walnut and untreated media. Works very well. I tried a lot of other things like car wax, midway brass polish mixed in, but nothing seemed to polish quite as well as this stuff:
Lyman Turbo Brass Cleaning Media Treated Tufnut (Walnut)
You don't want to use it full strength, as it will leave a red residue on the brass. Thus the reason I mix it 50/50 and also use a dryer sheet..
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Ah yes, I forgot you were loading for the 40. I am lucky I found a couple thousand pieces of the nickel plated stuff at the LGS and it doesn't take much (if any) cleaning at all. Have you ever tried any of that in your 40? Great stuff...
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It's just prettier!
And it's amazing of what I've learned/realized, what I like/don't like, since I started loading for myself. It's something you make ALL YOURS! Yet it's the same thing that many of us do! then you get to talking with other loaders, and.........
And then you shoot it. That's the fun part:
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Yes I generally process brass when the weather is too crappy to get out like it is right now. I get way ahead on prepped brass so when I feel like loading some up i pull 500 to 1000 cases out and just go for it. I've spent the last three days prepping brass, turning 200 cases for my .351, and powder coating hard cast. I have enough to load and shoot the rest of this year without anymore brass work if I want.
I've had enough being cooped up though. Gonna put in some extra socks and head to the range.
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Just separated out my 2-hour load of brass and 2 hours makes a lot of difference over 1 hour! I'm not sure I'll go to 3 hours since my 2-hour looked so great!
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I'll jump in, been reloading for over 20 years... I use walnut hull media and a dab of Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish, let that run in the vibratory cleaner for a couple of hours...I like my brass clean and shiney, just me, I'm attracted to shiney objects...
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That's a thing of beauty right there..
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Good point, I learned that with 9mm & 45's mixed... Too much work to separate the cases that decided to habitate within one another...When I first stared loading I put mixed pistol calibers in the tumbler and let it go for a couple hours. What a pain it was pulling all those apart
Need like diameter cases only... Like .38/.357/.380/9mm is okay to mix, but would still be a pain to sort... .38/.380 together in one batch and .357/9mm in another batch, that would work and be a quicker sort...
